Answers

Carter; I love the question. The times that money has been spent has often been appreciated, but often seen as...not so hot:
-The gift is lame (chocolate bar...not kidding)
-The gift takes time out of their personal lives (dinner out, etc)
-The employee thinks, "I'm (like most Americans) broke. I could have used the $20."

1) Have a party during work hours. Secret Santa, etc.
2) Say "thank you" very assertively.

The best token of appreciation I've ever received was from the CEO of a publicly traded company I did some contracting for. He came by and told me himself that he really appreciated my work and I was contributing. I could tell he meant it, and that felt much better than a $20 gift card to Publix.
On the flip side though, I worked for another paper and office supply company that gave its employees a bag a bag of toilet paper, paper towels, batteries, and ziploc bags for Christmas. Actually, they were very useful, but it was good fodder for jokes. I still tell people I got toilet paper for a Christmas bonus

Yes these are very different wonderful answers. In my view, primarily because I now have become a principle in a new company, one reward/recognition size doesn't fit all. My personal experience is that having award choices and sincerity in your rewards, recognition program will dramatically engage and motivate those on your team you value. Tai Aguirre: CFO Taico Productions. VP Business Development Taico.com

Time off and public recognition, for example in a town hall, have proven effective.

Anonymous

(Agent, JKS Solutions, Inc.)
| Dec 22, 2012

I would like to see a list of appreciation methods to use with employees from cultures that do not prefer to receive public praise. I have been accused of providing too much praise and criticized for praising people openly. In our global society, there are cultures who do not appreciate praise because they are focused on community and embarrassed when they are called out individually.

Anonymous

(Controller)
| Dec 24, 2012

Time off, being truly thankful (thank them often but not so often that it feels like it is insincere), and really, if the company is truly thankful, cash goes a long way. You'd be amazed at how far even $20 goes to help motivation. Money may not be the only motivator but getting some cash allows the employee to either reward him/her self or do something nice for the spouse that had to fill in for the ball game or dance recital you might have missed.

Employees spend most of their waking life at work, in the case of some early stage companies putting in long hours with less than market pay. I believe spending one on one time with an employee is the best reward they can receive (outsode of a bkig box of cash). It shows them they are valued when their manager spends time with them outside of annual reviews, and when the conversation expresses appreciation, asks questions like the manager has something to learn from the employee, and makes involved, it makes them feel needed and a valuable part of the company!

Some additional Reward and Recognition suggestions: Involve the employee in a new project that exposure them to acquire new skills; in addition to their performance manager have peers recognize them; write an article in the company newsletter or intranet website highlighting their efforts/accomplishments.; also as Valerie suggested, try to tailor to communication / delivery of the reward or recognition to the employees. Some individuals do not like public recognition and the purpose is reinforce the behavior;

This thread has blurred the distinction between recognition and reward.

Recognition is vitally important to maintaining a postive working environment and should be part of every manager's skill set, but it doesn't put bread on the table or shoes on my children's feet.

A reward is either a current or future benefit for the employee. It's hard to imagine a reward that cost nothing, as you request. If the reward is of no value to you, why do you think it would be valuable to an employee?

Time off is good but devise a plan to deal with any backlog so the employee doen't regret taking the time off. Redirect existing training funds to enable a promotion or develop a marketable skill.

I agree with Irv on this. If your compensation structure does is below market or does not allow for extraordinary efforts to be rewarded, maybe it needs a review.

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